


The Mane Event

by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions)



Series: I'll Be There For You (Platonic Week III) [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, As many shenanigans as I could fit into one fic, De-Aged Shiro (Voltron), De-aged Kuron (Voltron), Fluff, For all those relationships up top add Ryou to Shiro, Gen, Team as Family, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-01-28 12:24:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12606572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticReactions/pseuds/BossToaster
Summary: Shiro and Ryou are de-aged by Castle Malfunction (tm).  It takes a village to raise a child, and it takes a pride to keep the twins entertained.





	The Mane Event

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to both Butteredonions and to Niffty24 for helping me plot this out.
> 
> If you haven't read the rest of the series, this contains mild spoilers.

Lance tilted his head, considering the figures currently perched on the couch.

Two identical six years olds peered back, sporting the exact same pout. They had been hastily stuffed into the first semi-fitting pair of Altean clothing the team could find, which meant both outfits were just a little too large. Shiro’s long sleeved shirt draped over his hands, covering all by the very tips, and Ryou’s head hole gaped loosely over one shoulder.

Other than their size and shape, they looked relatively normal. Their hair colors were still the same, both natural and dyed. Shiro’s natural hand was curled nervously around Ryou’s Altean prosthetic, and they both still sported scars over their noses. The wound, while painfully looking as adults, was all the more upsetting on the round face of a young child.

That was one of the few things keeping Lance from cooing over them so far, actually.

“This is weird,” Pidge murmured somewhere behind him. “I still have no idea how this happened. It was just a power surge.”

Just a power surge, yes, but one that had happened when Shiro and Ryou were both in the pods, down with a nasty virus.

A power surge that somehow translated to shrinking both of them down to the approximate size and mentality of a young child. Coran insisted it should be fixed soon enough, and at least both their arms had adapted to match. Altean engineering, apparently, even in Shiro’s Galra prosthetic. Haggar was still Altean, in the end.

Even more luckily, they both seemed to recognize everyone on the castle, so their memories couldn’t be really gone. Ryou even called himself ‘Ryou’, though Shiro had calmly introduced himself as ‘Takashi’, and that was going to take some getting used to.

Now, they just had to deal with this. For however long it took.

“Um,” Shiro murmured, kicking his feet slightly. “Is something wrong?”

Ryou’s head perked up at the words, and he looked at Shiro, then at everyone else. “We didn’t do anything wrong,” he insisted, immediate and loud.

“Now that sounds like the words of a guilty conscious,” Matt drawled, lips curled up at the corners, just like Pidge’s did. He stepped around Lance and kneeled in front of them both, arms resting on his bent knees. “Are you sure?”

Shiro’s head bobbed. “I didn’t!” He declared, chin held high. “I’m not guilty. I just woke up.”

“Me too,” Ryou added. He scooted closer to Shiro, practically mashing their little shoulders together. “We can’t be in trouble if we didn’t do anything. So there.”

“No one’s in trouble,” Keith offered immediately. He shot Matt a flat look. “Leave them alone.”

Hunk shook his head. “Matt’s just teasing you guys. How are you feeling? Hungry yet?”

Shiro eyed Matt very seriously, head tilted. “Teasing someone isn’t nice,” he told him solemnly. “You should say you’re sorry.”

“Matt’s never sorry,” Pidge muttered, with the bitter exasperation of a younger sibling.

Grinning back, Matt waggled his brows. “She’s right. Never ever.”

The pair of unimpressed look that earned him only made Matt laugh.

Finally, Ryou looked back up at Hunk and bit his bottom lip. “I’m hungry. Is it food time, then?”

“It can be,” Hunk replied easy. He managed a smile, much more relaxed this time.

“Good,” Ryou said. He planted both his hands on the couch and slid down the side until his bare feet could touch the floor. Padding over to Hunk, he confidently offered him his left hand.

Shiro scrambled after, eyes wide. “Me too. Wait for me!” He grabbed onto the back of Ryou’s shirt like a baby elephant grabbing their mother’s tail in a cartoon, as if otherwise he’d be left behind. It made the gaping neck hole stretch nearly halfway down Ryou’s back, though neither of them seemed to notice or care.

Allura had offered to try and find more outfits at least close to both their sizes, as well as anything else a child might need in such a big castle. Personally, Lance suspected she’d taken on the duty to have an excuse to leave the room. She seemed to have very little idea of how to interact with the pair of them, alternating between treating them like their adult selves, or talking to them like they were the mice.

It was hard not to empathize. Lance had plenty of experience helping deal with kids, but it was weird to see Shiro and Ryou at this age. He couldn’t shake the feeling he was seeing something he wasn’t supposed to. Neither of them would be comfortable with this.

But it wasn’t like they could lock a pair of six year olds in a room and wait it out, just because they were reserved as adults. So Lance moved over and offered his hand to Shiro, as Hunk took Ryou’s hand in his. “Don’t worry, Takashi, no one’s leaving you.”

Shiro’s metal fingers were surprisingly tentative, curling up to hook around Lance’s bottom four. “Are you hungry too? We can share.”

Chest full of goopy warmth, Lance shot Hunk a thin-lipped look, trying desperately to hold back a soppy smile. “Yeah, I could eat. How about everyone else?”

“We should help out Coran getting the pods fixed,” Matt admitted, pushing on his knees to stand up. “I don’t think it’ll take too long to get them running again. He seemed to know what was wrong, anyway. You sticking with the little ones, Hunk?”

Tightening his grip on Ryou’s little hand, Hunk nodded. “Yeah, I think so.” His smile grew. “Someone’s got to make sure they eat healthy.”

“Eugh,” Shiro murmured, barely loud enough to be heard.

“Will you guys be okay keeping an eye on them by yourselves?” Pidge asked, brows up.

Lance snorted. “You kidding? I could wrangle these two alone. I bet you they’re a lot better behaved than my niece and nephew on a bad day.”

“You’re an uncle?” Ryou asked, craning around to look at him. His eyes were round as plates as he took Lance in. “I didn’t know you were old.”

Choking Lance gaped at him. “I- what- no, I’m not- hey! You don’t have to be old to be an uncle.”

Shiro and Ryou shared an unsure look. “Uncle Shoma is old,” Shiro offered. “And boring. But Lance isn’t boring.”

“Maybe,” Ryou allowed, still deeply skeptical.

Deciding to ignore the conversation completely, Lance nodded to the Holts. “Alright, we’ll save you something to eat. What about you, Keith?”

“Keith has to stay,” Shiro cried immediately. He let go of the back of Ryou’s shirt so he could reach out for Keith instead. “Please?”

For several seconds, Keith managed to keep his expression relatively neutral. But it slowly crumpled, like the weight of Shiro’s begging look was too much. “Yeah, I’ll stay. I don’t really... know. Kids, I mean.”

“We’ll look out for you,” Lance offered. “It’s really not that hard, especially at this age. You two are gunna listen well, right?”

“Yeah, we can be good.” Ryou put his finger to his lips, expression solemn. A moment later, Shrio copied the motion, nodding very seriously indeed.

Okay, clearly that meant something to them. Maybe about not being too noisy, for some reason?  Maybe it was from their school or something.

“Sure, I believe that,” Matt drawled, his smile more than a little misty. “Pidge here was oh so good at following directions when she was their age.”

Pidge huffed. “I was! I just didn’t see why I was supposed to listen to you all the time.”

“Caaause Mom was busy and Dad was kicking as- butt in space?”

“You tried to cut off my hair, once,” Pidge pointed out, tone utterly flat.

Matt shrugged. “Then you did it yourself a few years later. Coulda saved you the trouble.”

Rolling her eyes, Pidge offered both her palms to the twins. “See you later. High five?”

Beaming, the pair of them enthusiastically smacked their free hands down onto Pidge’s palms.

“Oof.” Pidge rocked her arms dramatically from the ‘force’. “Good arms. You guys grow up really strong, you know.”

Shiro beamed back and nodded. “Yeah, we definitely do. Bigger than everyone!”  He held up one arm, reaching as high as he could go, which was not quite as tall as Pidge.  “Bigger than this!”

Well, he wasn’t wrong.

Standing back up, Pidge quietly worked the hand that Ryou had smacked with his prosthetic. “Alright, if we’re not back in a couple of hours, send help. Coran caught us in a story loop and we can’t escape.”

“We’ll be on the lookout,” Lance promised, giving an exaggerated salute. He intentionally crooked his wrist, knowing damn well it would annoy Shiro-

Except it was currently six and probably didn’t know any better. Damn. Nevermind.

Matt stepped around them to the door, then pointed at his eyes, then the group. “Don’t you guys go having a fun movie party without us, got it? If there’s goofing off with kids movies, I want in.”

“Duly noted,” Keith replied flatly.

“Bye!” Ryou called, waving his free hand. “Can we have lunch now, please?” He tugged gently on Hunk’s hand.

Nodding, Hunk bent down and heaved him up. Ryou let out a surprised shriek, clutching at Hunk’s vest, but he was beaming. “Lunch now, yup.” They started down the hall, turning the opposite direction Matt and Pidge had taken.

Shiro glanced between both Lance and Keith expectantly, clearly wanting the same treatment.

Before Lance could even start to bend down, Keith swooped in and picked Shiro up. For a moment, Shiro just dangled limply in his hands, like Keith hadn’t thought through till step two. But a glance at Hunk’s back gave him at least an idea, and soon he had Shiro propped against his chest, head tucked under his chin.

“You got him?” Lance asked, brows up.

Keith nodded, the set of his jaw already growing defensive. “Yeah. He’s good.”

“Awesome. Lunch time.” Lance started off, content to let everyone else do the hard work of carrying around six year olds.

After all, someone had to plan out how they were going to keep both of them engaged and out of trouble for at least the rest of the day.

Luckily, there was no one better at keeping kids happy and contained than Lance.

***

Flopping down into his chair, Lance gratefully took a bowl of goo from Hunk. Given the chaos of the morning, there had been no time to make a proper meal, which Lance wasn’t going to complain about. Hunk cooked half for them and half for his own sake, and when he did and didn’t choose to put in the effort was up to him.

“Thanks, man,” Lance said, spinning his spoon idly in his hand. “Works out, too. No cutting up the food for anyone.”

Hunk paused as he put bowls down in front of the twins. “Oh, yeah. I’ll have to keep that in mind for dinner tonight.”

“They’re that young?” Keith asked, brows furrowed. He took the bowl Hunk offered him with a thankful smile. “I thought that was for, like, toddlers.”

“I mean, they’d probably be okay, but it’s better to keep an eye on it, you know?” Lance scooped up a spoonful of the goo and shoved it in his mouth. “Stuff happens.  No need for anyone to choke.”

Chirping out their own quick thanks, both twins  enthusiastically dove into their goo. 

“Weird!” Ryou offered, grinning around a smear of neon green on his chin. “I’ve never eaten stuff like this before. Is it astronaut food?”

“You got it, buddy,” Hunk said, grinning. “All food in space is technically astronaut food.”

Ryou giggled appreciatively, taking another big mouthful.

But Shiro glanced between them both, nose crinkled. Then he cast a forlorn look down at his own bowl. “Did Ryou get something different?” He asked carefully.

“I don’t think so,” Hunk offered gently, brow furrowed. “Is something wrong?”

Shiro shifted guiltily in his seat, spoon held tight in his fist. “Um. Mine tastes funny.”

Oh, right. For all they joked about the way the goo tasted, they’d gotten used to it. Shiro and Ryou were tasting it again for the first time.

Or, rather, Shiro was. Ryou still couldn’t taste anything.

“Mine’s fine,” Ryou said proudly around his spoon.

Casting a forlorn look at the other bowl, Shiro pinned Hunk with a look of absolute betrayal, as if he’d purposefully given him the worse of the two.

Immediately, Hunk’s expression crumpled. “Aww, Sh- Takashi, no, it’s okay. It’s the same thing, some people just like foods better than others.”

Shiro’s eyes narrowed. He dropped his spoon and crossed his arms stubbornly. “Mine is wrong,” he insisted, with a surprising amount of steel in his voice for such a young boy.

“It’s the same thing!” Hunk insisted back. “I got it from the same place. I wouldn’t do that.”

But the stubborn set of Shiro’s jaw proved he wasn’t going to be moved. “How about you try some of Ryou’s,” Lance offered. “That way you’ll know for sure.”

Ryou froze, his spoon still in his mouth. “No! This one is mine. He has his own.”

Oh, lord.

“Just one little taste,” Lance asked. “And you can have more after, okay?”

Ryou’s lips pressed together mulishly.

“Please?”

With a final groan, Ryou pushed his bowl closer to Shiro. “Fine. One taste. One.” He held up one finger at Shiro.

Permission obtained, Shiro took a spoonful from Ryou’s bowl and popped in his mouth.

Slowly, his nose crinkled back up, and his eyes darted from Lance to Hunk. “Ryou’s is better,” he said, chin held high.

That little-

Either he’d talked himself into liking Ryou’s more, or he was actively lying. No matter which-

“You can’t have more!” Ryou pulled his bowl away, leaning to the left away from Shiro, as if he’d try to take the whole thing away. “It’s mine!”

Hunk groaned and rubbed over his face with his hands. “They’re the same thing, both of you.”

Rather than answer, Shiro shoved his own bowl away and glared at them all. It teetered dramatically, threatening to fall over and spill out, but Keith reached out and snagged it.

Without so much as blinking, Keith calmly set the bowl down in front of Shiro. “It tastes better if you eat it with your hands,” he told Shiro flatly. “Try it like that.”

Lance’s chest went cold, and he could feel the blood drain out of his face.

“Keith-” He started, voice a dangerous hiss.

But it was far too late. Shiro’s eyes had already lit up with gleeful interest. Without a second thought, he dropped his spoon and shoved his entire hand into the bowl. It came out covered in goo, and he shoved a finger into his mouth, eyes crinkled at the edges. “Yeah! That’s better.”

Watching with open interest, Ryou copied the move, then started to lick his palm clean. “Gross!” He declared, the ultimate accolade of children the universe over.

It was over. It was far, far too late to stop them now.

“Keith,” Lance repeated. “What were you  _ thinking?” _

Frowning back, Keith shrugged. “Little boys like getting messy, right?” He offered. “That way he’ll eat instead of sulking, see?”

He nodded to Shiro, who was indeed making steady progress through his bowl. Part of that was the amount of goo smeared over his sleeves and the front of his shirt. Next to him, Ryou giggled as he tried to lick his nose clean of a blob, his white hair stained a pale green in front.

“They do,” Hunk agreed. “Though that’s really not sanitary.” He made a face as Shiro tried to suck some of the goo off his sleeve.

Lance took a deep breath. “Yeah, kids love that stuff. But who has to clean it up after?”

Finally, Keith seemed to understand what he’d started. Horror grew over his face as he took in now splattered they both were, and how messy the table and chairs under them were getting. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh,” Lance groaned.

“I’ll wash up after.”

“You bet you will.”

Loud laughter interrupted them. “Look, Takashi, look.” Ryou smeared goo over his chin and lip. “I’ve got a beard!”  Nodding gleefully, Shiro took another handful and helped Ryou fill any patches.

Hunk rested his chin on his palm, utterly resigned to the growing mess. “Better beard then he grew last time.”

Sighing, Lance went back to eating. “Hey, if you two keep smearing it everywhere, you’re not going to get more. You get as much as you can eat, not as much as you can make goo beards out of.”

“Aww.” Ryou’s shoulders slumped as he started to lick his lips, leaving a clear patch of skin around his mouth.

Shiro sighed but nodded, licking his fingers clean with resignation.

But the second he looked away, there was a loud squish.

“My ears!” Shiro complained, covering one drippy green ear, mouth open wide as Ryou laughed.

Keith’s look of horror and regret didn’t nearly make up for what he’d started, but it at least made Lance feel better.

***

While Keith took charge of cleaning the dining room, Hunk agreed to supervise bathtime, which was good for Lance. This was another one of those activities that were necessary but that neither Shiro nor Ryou were going to thank them for later.

Besides, Lance had an important goal, and only a short amount of time to complete it.

Using the clothes the twins had been wearing before as a base measurement to shrink down, Lance worked on inputting all the information the castle would need to manufacture clothes. There hadn’t been time for that when the pair of them were tripping over the pod undersuit, but now Lance had some leeway.

He also had an idea. Because, yeah, if they were going have to take care of the mini-Shiroganes, then Lance was going to get something out of it.

Well, more out of it. He was already going to frame those pictures of Shiro and Ryou covered in goo.

Just as he finished up, the console next to him clicked on. “Hey, you manage to find Allura and some more clothes, yet?”

“Oh, I got some,” Lance replied, his grin growing. “You all finished up, then?”

“With much less water in the bath then when they started,” Hunk replied, letting out an exhausted sounding sigh. “They’ll be dry in a bit if you want to head down.”

“Sounds good.” Lance hopped up and grabbed the bundle of fabric. “No news from the pit crew, yet?”

There was a pause, probably either Hunk shaking his head or nodding. “No, not yet. I was going to head down once you take over.”

Sounded good to Lance. “Be there in five.”

It was a short walk down to the group bathroom, and Lance used his hip to knock the door open. “Are my favorite boys all clean?”

“Lance!” Ryou beamed at him, nearly hopping in place. He had a towel knotted around his hips, and his hair was still dripping. “You missed bath time.”

“I know, buddy, I know. It’s my favorite time, too. Such a shame. How are you guys doing?”

Shiro gave a much shyer wave, barely a wagging of his fingers. “Good.” He was utterly buried under a small mountain of towels, covering everywhere below the neck.

It only took Lance a second to realize why the difference. Shiro’s body shyness seemed to have stuck around.

“All clean, so we’re better than we were half an hour ago,” Hunk reported. He took another towel and scrubbed it over the top of Ryou’s head, making the pale strands stick straight up. “Lance brought you guys some clothes so you can go back to playing.”

Immediately, Shiro perked. “You did?” He stood up, trying desperately to hold all his towels in place, eyes hopeful.

Lance grinned. “Yup.” And with that he unfolded one of the bundles, letting it unfurl out dramatically.

It was a Black Lion onesie, completely with plush wings strapped to the back.

Shiro’s eyes went wide. “That’s mine?”

“Sure is,” Lance agreed. “And this one is Ryou’s.” He draped the Black Lion outfit over his shoulder to show off the other one.  His had plush claws like Yellow’s on the built-in gloves, because Lance was not about to suffer another ‘who has it better’ argument.

As Shiro started to grin, openly delighted, Ryou tilted his head, not sure yet. “That looks like it’s for babies,” he pointed out.

“Can’t be,” Lance replied easier. “It’s your size and your lion. The Yellow Lion isn’t for babies, right?”

Hunk snorted. “Better watch what you say, Ryou.”

That seemed to mollify him somewhat, but Ryou still looked unsure. “It’s really not?”

“If it was, would I have one too?” Lance pointed to the final bundle of blue fabric, still rolled in his arms. He’d have gone with the Red Lion, but maybe he still held a bit of a torch. Besides, he didn’t want to clash with his slippers.

Finally, Ryou started to smile. “Okay, good. Just checking.” He reached up for his, and Lance took great pleasure in dropping the onesie right onto his hopeful little face.

Lance changed into his quickly, while Hunk helped untangle Shiro from his towel nest. Between the both of them, they got the twins dressed with as little chaos as possible.

Waving his hands around, Ryou beamed at the stuffed claws. He rubbed them against his chin. “Cool.”

“I aim to please,” Lance said, not bothering to keep the pride out of his voice. This was pretty damn good for such a short time period, and the pair of them looked devilishly adorable in their matching outfits.

Nodding, Shiro craned his head around and reached back as far as he could, trying to pet his wings. But the six year old version hadn’t developed near the adult Shiro’s flexibility, so he mostly ended up going in circles like a dog chasing his tail. “Can I fly?”

“Mmm, not on this model,” Lance said. “It was kind of short notice. Maybe some other time.”

“We can fly if we go out in the lions,” Ryou pointed out.

Lance’s brows rose. “And where do you think you’d go in your lion, hm?”

“Uh.” Ryou blinked thoughtfully, head tilted. “The sun?”

“What for?”

Shiro bounced on his feet. “To take pictures. And samples! Like scientists.”

Bobbing his head in agreement, Ryou pointed to Shiro. “Yeah! We can do that.”

“That sounds like a full day event,” Lance pointed out. “We might miss dinner. How about we plan for tomorrow?”

With any luck, Lance wouldn’t be eating those words. But worse come to worse, he’d have Hunk take them out to the nearest sun in Yellow and they could ooh and aah for a little while. I wouldn’t take that long.

Still, Lance was hopeful this wouldn’t last that long. Coran wasn’t worried about being down two paladins (though, at least they could form Voltron without them).  So he’d decided not to freak out either.

“Alright, if you’re set, I’m going to go help out with the pods.” Hunk stretched his back, wincing as it popped. “And I think change into something dry first.”

“Aww,” Ryou bemoaned. “You’re not gunna play with us?”

Hunk’s expression utterly melted. “I have work, guys, sorry. Soon, though, I promise.”

Rather than continue to complain, Shiro and Ryou shared a sudden, significant glance. They both frowned, the same resigned, knowing expression.

Reaching out, Shiro hooked his black-mittened hand around one of Ryou’s. “Okay,” he said, with shockingly easy acceptance. “We’ll be good.”

This time, they didn’t repeat the finger to the lips gesture, but Lance’s stomach twisted anyway.

Maybe he should talk to Keith after all.

Hunk glanced between them both, eyes wide. His gaze flickered to Lance, serious for just a moment, before he plastered on a smile. Then he bent forward, eyes wide. “One last hug before I go?”

Immediately, he was tackled on both sides by enthusiastic children. Hunk let out a playful roar and heaved them both up, spinning in a slow circle that had them shrieking happily.

Finally, he put them back down. “Be good for Lance, okay?”

“Promise,” Shiro offered.

Hunk beamed and ruffled his hair. “Atta boys. You good, Lance?”

Flapping a hand, Lance snorted. “I said I could handle them alone. It’s fine.”

With a last reluctant look back, Hunk sighed and stepped out of the bathroom, heading toward his room.

Down one person, the baths felt much emptier and quieter.

Taking a deep breath, Lance offered a hand to them both. “Hey, wanna go explore the castle?”

Both boys looked back up at him, and for just a moment, Lance felt utterly out of his depth. He had plenty of experience with young kids, yeah, but not these two. Not ones whose pasts were such mysteries. Maybe he should trade with Keith?

But then Shiro reached up and took his hand, secure as he could when they were both wearing mittens. “Okay.” He leaned against Lance’s side, utterly trusting. Ryou took hold off Lance’s other hand and started to swing it idly.

Bolstered, Lance smiled. “Alright, let’s go find something cool!”

The twins’ cheers echoed as they headed down the hall.

***

Okay, so exploring had been a better idea when Lance hadn’t thought about how big the Castle of Lions was. Sure, there were some awesome places, like the engine room and the pool. Even the ballroom was pretty cool, if only because it was wild to live somewhere that had it’s own ballroom, like living in a fairy tale.

But what tended to slip Lance’s mind was how much of it was boring.

“Another office,” Lance pronounced, looking around the room with a sigh. That was the tenth one on this floor alone.

Ryou gave a low groan, burying his face in Lance’s arm. “We saw a bunch of these already,” he whined. “Do we have to look around this one?”

“No, we don’t,” Lance agreed. “But exploring can’t always be exciting, you know.”

“It should be,” Shiro muttered, slightly mutinous. “Can we try a different floor next?”

Lance nodded, taking a deep breath. “Probably a good idea. C’mon, let-” He turned and stepped out into the hallway, only to nearly walk right into someone.

“Oh!” Allura blinked at them, eyes wide and nearly guilty. She glanced over Lance, taking in his outfit, then looked down at Shiro and Ryou. “What interesting clothing.”

Immediately, Shiro stepped in closer to Lance, nearly hiding behind one of his legs. “Lance made it,” he mumbled out, barely audible.

Lance plastered on a smile, showing just a bit too much teeth to be genuine. “Yeah, I did. Pretty cool, right, Princess?” He was not about to have the baby debate again if he could help it.

Thankfully, Allura caught on quickly. She folded her hands in front of her. “Very dashing,” she pronounced. “And comfortable looking.”

“It’s soft, see?” Ryou offered his clawed hand.

Allura hesitated, then bent down to run her fingers along the fabric. “Very nice.”

But as she moved closer, both boys shuffled nearer to Lance. Shiro even went so far as to bury his face into Lance’s onesie, clutching the fabric tight.

“Oh.” Allura looked up at Lance, eyes wide and lips pressed thin. “Did I do something insulting to them?”

Lance shook his head, baffled. “No, not at all. Hey, guys, what gives? What’s with the hiding?”

Tugging on Lance’s onesie, Ryou gave him a sharp glare. “M’not hiding!” He declared, though he didn’t move out of the relative safety of Lance’s legs.

“Sure you’re not,” Lance replied, rolling his eyes. “C’mon, Allura’s nice. What’s up? Takashi?” He had started it, and he seemed to be having the stronger reaction.

Finally, Shiro peeked his head out. “She’s a princess,” he hissed out in a whisper.

Lance nodded slowly. “She sure is. What about it?”

“A real life princess!” Shiro bit his bottom lip. “You gotta... bow. Or kiss her hand. Or something.” He gave Lance a disappointed look, like he was being incredibly rude.  Lance was used to seeing on his adult face, but it was surreal on a child.

Glancing between them both, Allura shot Lance a frankly baffled glance. He only shrugged back, not sure why this was so important. If he had to guess, he’d say it was just a Shiro thing - he cared about doing things right and making a good impression. That might go double for literal royalty.

“There’s no need for such formalities,” Allura assured them. “You are already my friends, and friends do not need to do any of that.”

Shiro’s grip on Lance loosened, if only a touch. “Really?”

Nodding firmly, Allura smiled at him. “Of course. As paladins of Voltron, you have already passed all the tests you need to.”

Apparently those were the magic words, because Shiro relaxed all at once, and Ryou gave a beaming smile. “Are you gunna come explore with us?”

“Well...” Allura trained off, her eyes tracking up to Lance again.

He offered her a smile. “You don’t have to,” he said gently. “We’ve been doing a good job on our own. Right, guys?”

Shiro gave him a dubious look. “Um.”

“Totally,” Lance continued, ignoring the less than glowing review. “No pressure if you’re busy.”

Once again, that seemed to mean something to the boys. “Oh,” Ryou murmured, his shoulders drooping. “It’s okay if you can’t.”

Shiro nodded agreeably, his eyes on his feet. He scraped the soft fabric against the floor. “Yeah. I can be good if you need to work. I’m good at being quiet. I have my puzzles and my books.”

“And TV,” Ryou added. “Matt said there were movies.”

Jaw set, Allura’s eyes narrowed. Then she took a deep breath. “I would love to spend time with you both.”

Shiro’s eyes brightened. “You can?” He finally stepped away from Lance and offered a beaming smile. “You want to play with us?”

“Absolutely,” Allura said, stronger than before. “That sounds delightful.”

Darting ahead, Ryou offered her a hopeful smile. “Do you know the cool places in the castle? Lance only found boring rooms.”

“Hey!”

Allura’s lips quirked up. “I know all the places in the castle,” she pronounced. “Every single one. But many of them are indeed boring. Maybe there are games you’d rather play?”

Grinning now, Shiro raised his hand like he was in class. “I have one!”

***

Letting out a wild cackle, Allura wrapped her arm around Lance’s neck and curled her fingers like claws. The effect was somewhat ruined by the bright pink lion onesie she was wearing. “I have you now, paladin. I, the evil queen, can no longer be stopped!”

Lance gasped theatrically, swooning in her grip. “Oh no!” He stuck his leg up high in the air and artfully draped the back of his palm against his forehead. “The other paladins will save me, I know they will!”

“It’s too late!” Allura declared, tightening her grip (unnecessary) and tossing her hair dramatically. “No one could get through my meteor defenses! It would take the best pilot in the universe!”

“I can!”

Allura gasped, dropping Lance onto the floor (even more unnecessary) and holding up her hands. “Impossible!”

Hands on his hips in pure, open defiance, Shiro stuck out his little chest. “Not for me. I’m the best pilot in the whole ever!”

Behind him, a frown momentarily crossed Ryou’s face, pride stung. But he shook it off and extended his arms, showing off the plush claws. “And I’m the best fighter! We’ve come to save you, Lance!”

“I knew you’d come for me!” Lance cried, still swooning for all he was worth. Because, hey, if he was going to be the damsel in distress, he was going to milk it for every drop.

Charging forward, Shiro held out both his arms like an airplane, completely with ‘whoosh’ sound effects from under his breath. Ryou didn’t even bother with that, continuing to wave his arms in dramatic, open-palmed strikes.

“I can still fight you,” Allura pointed out. When Shiro got close enough, she wrapped her arms around him and heaved him up, grinning at his loud shrieks. “Do you still think you can defeat me, Mighty Black Paladin?”

But Ryou let out a cry and started to swipe at her hips. “No! Put down my brother!”

Allura let out a howl of pain and flopped backward, cradling Shiro protectively to her chest so he wouldn’t be hurt on impact. She landed in the mass of blankets that had once been the paladin secret clubhouse. “No, you’re too strong!”

“Protect Lance,” Shiro ordered Ryou, kicking until he was able to turn around in Allura’s grip and get his feet back over him.

Ryou nodded. “Right!” With that he scampered over to Lance, eyes very big and worried. “Are you okay?”

Biting his bottom lip hard to avoid breaking character, Lance nodded. “Thank you for saving me. My hero.”

“All in a day’s work.” Ryou pulled him into a quick hug, then turned with his arms out, clearly prepared to do battle if Shiro needed the backup.

But that wasn’t necessary. Instead Shiro squirmed his way up until he could wrap his arms around Allura’s neck, then he pressed a quick peck to her cheek. A second later, his face flushed red, and he ducked to hide in her shoulder. “There. Now you’re a good guy.”

Allura’s eyes went wide, then her face went just as red as Shiro’s. “King Groggery the Infirm,” she groaned, both her hands coming up to cover her face. “Alright, yes, you win.”

Cheering, Ryou turned around and spread his arms wide. “We did it!”

“You sure did.” Lance wrapped his arms around Ryou’s stomach and dragged him in for a big hug. “I’m sure the conquering heroes have worked up quite the appetite. We should-”

Lance turned to the door, then froze.

The tech crew and Keith were all in the doorway, obviously enjoying the show.

Grinning widely, Hunk started to clap. “Very cool,” he called, eying Lance pointedly.

Matt collapsed forward, draping himself over Pidge’s back like an oversized cape. “I’m dying,” he groaned. “Please tell me there’s security cameras in this room.”

“There’s cameras in every room,” Pidge reassured him. She reached up and gave him an idle pat on the top of his head.

“I’m going to die. Then I’m going to come back and watch this every day.”

Climbing off of Allura, Shiro’s cheeks stained pink. “We were just practicing,” he muttered.

Ryou squirmed out of Lance’s grip and pressed his shoulder to Shiro’s. “Were we being loud?” He asked.

“Not at all, young paladins,” Coran reassured them. His eyes were practically sparkling as he took in the pair of them. “You don’t have to worry. The Castle of Lions is a very big place, so you can be loud if you require.”

Taking in the pleased flush to his cheeks and soft warmth in his smile, Lance suddenly felt bad that they’d let Coran toil away in the pod room. He was the one who knew the most about to fix them, but he looked so pleased to see the kiddie versions of Shiro and Ryou. Likely, he’d have enjoyed getting to play, too.

Shiro’s eyes went wide, and he and Ryou shared a quick look. “I’m supposed to be quiet and let Mother rest,” he admitted. “Grandmother says she needs lots of sleep to get better.”

Oh.

Oh, boy.

Keith’s eyes softened and his shoulders slumped. “Oh, Shiro.” He winced and shot Lance a wild look, as if asking him to shut Shiro up before he accidentally revealed more.

Except Lance had no idea what to say right now. Instead his head was swimming as he started to connect the dots, mostly despite himself.

In the end, it was Coran who strode forward. He kneeled down so he was only slightly taller than them both, and he put a hand on either shoulder. “No need to worry. As I said, the Castle of Lions is a very large place. The quarters are a good distance away from the lounge, so you can enjoy without any worry at all. My Grandfather engineered it that way.”

“It’s really okay?” Shiro asked carefully.

Coran nodded firmly. “You’ve been a perfect delight, I assure you. There’s no need to be worried, we’ll take care of it all.”

Taking Shiro’s hand, Ryou gave it a firm, bolstering squeeze, which was returned immediately.  They shared a quick, relieved look.  “Okay. As long as it’s okay. Are you done working, then?”

“That we are!” Coran agreed. He ruffled both their heads, getting completely identical scrunched faces.

Pidge nodded. “It’s still a little bit before dinner, too. If you guys are done saving the universe from the evil queen, it could be movie time.”

“She’s a good guy now,” Shiro informed Pidge. “I fixed it.”

Going pink again, Allura groaned in the back of her throat and closed her eyes.

Reaching over, Lance patted her on the shoulder. It really was hard to stand such concentrated cuteness.

“Sounds like you’ve got time on your hands, then,” Matt offered. “Have anything you want to watch?”

Ryou’s eyes lit up. “Do you have something with robots? Or planes?”

“Oh, I’ve got a robot movie for you,” Pidge offered. She spread her arms wide and ushered them both down the hall, flanked by a still obviously protective Keith and a soppy looking Matt.

As the group started to file out, Hunk stepped over and offered his hand to help Lance up, as Coran helped set Allura back to rights. “So, hey, question.”

“Sure,” Lance said, tensing slightly. He loved Hunk, and he was the best guy Lance knew, but he also had a nosey tendency. Considering that Shiro and Ryou had just plopped a Grade-A juicy mystery at their feet, he was understandably tense that there might be more questions. Lance felt bad enough for knowing what little the twins had revealed, he didn’t want to accidentally spill more.

But Hunk only grinned, eyes crinkling eagerly at the corners. “About those lion onesies...”

***

An hour later, the projected screens were declaring that  _ ‘today we are cancelling the apocalypse’.  _ The entire group had crammed themselves into the three couches, the room darkened for the best possible viewing experience. It made for an interesting sight, considering Lance had been called upon to make a lion onesie for every member of the team.

Lance had taken an outside seat, content to let the others jostle over getting close to the twins. Keith won immediately, shouldering his way over and plopping himself next to Shiro like it would take the entire Galra empire to drag him away. Hunk had managed to snag the spot on next to Ryou, with Matt squirming his way in the last seat on the edge. Rather than be left out, Pidge had opted to sit on the floor, her head resting between Shiro and Keith’s knees.

It had all been for nothing, though. After a long day of food fights, exploration and saving the universe, Shiro and Ryou had barely lasted twenty minutes into the film. Before most of the robot fights even started, they limply slumped against each other, held up mostly through a lucky balance of their shoulders and heads aligning.

Combined with the way their lion hoods draped over their face, and the blanket that Keith had carefully tucked around them both, it was absolutely precious.  Enough that Lance kept pulling out his phone and snapping pictures every few minutes.

“So what happens now?” Allura asked quietly. She was snug in the corner of one of the couches, legs tucked under her. Coran settled on the other half, watching the others with open fondness. “You said you could fix it?”

Sighing, Coran nodded. “Yes, it’ll just take another trip into the pod. Preferably without any more power surges, thank you very much. A varga later they’ll be right as rain. Now that we’ve gotten the modifications done, we can start at any time.”

Lance’s brows jumped. “And instead we’re watching a movie?”

“Be honest with me,” Coran said, gaze still soft. “Have you ever seen them this relaxed?”

Taking a second look, Lance sighed. No, he hadn’t. Their faces were completely slack as they slept. Even the combined snorting was gentler. As he watched, Shiro snugged deeper into the soft blanket, a tiny smile curling at his lips. The movement made Ryou mumble out a protest.  He gripped at Shiro’s onesie, only to drop it as he relaxed again.

Even unconscious in a pod, Lance had never known either of them to look so peaceful.

Keith picked his head up and nodded. “It needs to be soon,” he reminded them. “Shiro’s going to be mortified. Ryou too.”

“It has been nice,” Allura admitted. “But I will be glad to see them back to themselves. They’ve been through a lot, yes, but it’s not right to take their triumphs from them either.”

True. It was just...

It was nice.

One little nap wouldn’t hurt anyone.

“If they ask, the pods needed a hard reset,” Pidge offered. She blinked slowly, looking drowsy as well. “Took about two hours, so we watched a movie.”

“Doesn’t explain the outfits,” Hunk reminded.

“The food fight that Keith started does.” Lance eyed him pointedly.

Scowling, Keith rolled his eyes. “I di-” But he cut himself off, looking down at the sleeping boys. “Fine, fine.”

“Let them rest,” Coran replied. “They can have it all back in an varga and a half. A break won’t do any harm, and we’re not jeopardizing Voltron.”

Keith nodded, his expression softening. He idly brushed Shiro’s bangs off his forehead, smiling when he didn’t so much as stir. “Yeah. Just a nap.”

But the movie couldn’t last much longer, and soon the room was dark as credits rolled.

“Well, no putting it off any longer,” Lance admitted. He stood and stretched until his back cracked satisfyingly. “I don’t think they’re walking down. Who wants to take a rugrat?”

Keith nodded. “I’ve got Shiro. I don’t think I can get up without waking him anyway.”

“And I can carry Ryou,” Coran said. He didn’t offer any justification, but his gaze was bittersweet and soft.

No one argued.

As he was picked up, Shiro mumbled out a slurred protest. Then his eyes opened, and he blinked. “Oh. Keith.” With that, he went obligingly limp, content to be manhandled wherever Keith was going.

Eyes slamming shut, Keith held Shiro close, damn near cradling him.

Coran heaved Ryou up in one smooth motion, suspiciously practiced. He dropped a kiss to the white hair and tucked the dragging blanket in around him. Ryou barely stirred, just moving to grip Coran’s bright orange onesie.

Neither protested until they arrived at the med bay and were prepared for the pods. Then Ryou picked his head up and gave a sleepy groan of protest. “No. S’cold in there.”

“We’ll warm you right back up,” Coran soothed gently, smoothing back Ryou’s hair. “Just a quick nap and you’ll feel all better, okay?”

Ryou groaned again, but he didn’t protest as he was deposited in the pod.

In the one right next to him, Shiro gripped hard at Keith’s (reluctantly worn) onesie. “Wanna stay with you. No more leaving.”

Keith’s breath hitched, but he carefully untangled Shiro’s fingers from his clothing. “We’ll be here, okay? All of us will be here when you wake up.”

“Promise?”

“Always, Shiro.”

Shrio frowned, but didn’t correct him to Takashi. Instead he nodded and leaned back in the pod, finally allowing Keith to step back.

Lance pretended very hard he didn’t notice the wet shine to Keith’s eyes.

“We’ll see you in just a tick,” Pidge promised. “Good dreams, okay, guys?”

There was no answer as the pods slid shut, and both their eyes slid shut.

“Is it weird that I’m going to miss this?” Hunk asked quietly. He reached up and rubbed under one eye, blinking rapidly. “It was kind of nice.”

“No,” Coran murmured, voice very raw. “Not weird at all, I would say.”

Definitely not, because Lance couldn’t breathe around the lump in his throat. They needed Shiro and Ryou. They deserved to be the adults they’d lived to become.

But it had been nice, to forget about being the Defenders of the Universe, and only worry about keeping track of two sweet young boys. Ones Lance cared for very much.

Ones that could help deal with the ache he felt when he thought of his niece and nephew.

“It’s for the best,” Keith reminded, head held high. He crossed his arms and planted his feet, clearly planning to stay put until they woke.

“It is,” Matt agreed mildly. He wrapped a solid arm around Pidge’s shoulders, pulling her in until she leaned back against him.

Lance nodded. “Yeah. And in the meantime, we have pictures.”

Smiling, Allura glanced at the consoles. “And video. Which I’m sure they’ll both enjoy watching.”

Oh, not at all. Well, maybe Ryou. He tended to zag in unexpected ways. Shiro was definitely going to be mortified, though.

Honestly, Lance was looking forward to see it.

But first, he had two new, adult-sized lion costumes to make.


End file.
